You see, there are still faint glimmers of civilization left in this barbaric slaughterhouse that was once known as humanity. Indeed that's what we provide in our own modest, humble, insignificant... oh, fuck it. - M. Gustave

Pixie has fleas, again. We thought we were rid of them and we definitely were for a while because she didn't have any at her last vet check. Feel like I got an STI informing other dog owners I know because was around them recently and I'd feel awful if we passed them on to anyone else. More likely I'm just gonna make them paranoid over nothing. In the process of washing everything so hopefully we'll be free of them soon.

Dog fleas are endemic, really. That's why it's best to use systemic flea (and tick) killers to keep them at bay.

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"Being human, having your health; that's what's important."(from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )"As long as we're all living, and as long as we're all having fun, that should do it, right?"(from: The Eccentric Family )

Can this thread be used for pet advice too? We have a cat who likes to stick her butt over the edge of the cat box and piss on the floor. It has nothing to do with how clean her box is, in fact she prefers to do it when the box is clean. She's always done it occasionally really, but the past few weeks it's been almost every day, sometimes several times a day. We can't have a bath mat and we're sick of buying paper towels. Things we've tried are:

Covered cat box - she hates those and ends up also crapping on the floor instead.Putting the box on a tray so we can clean the tray instead of the floor - she ends up sitting on the tray and pissing on the floor.

Next thing on the list is getting a new box with taller edges so she can't stick her butt over, but I don't know how humane that is because she's old and I don't want going to the toilet being difficult for her. Any suggestions?

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Quote from: Meebo

[00:07] Liz: Jordan tell us how you feel about Edison.[00:08] Ozy: FUCK YOU LIZ[00:08] Ozy: has left the room

My cat likes to piss in the shower when something's bothering her (thankfully a place that's easy to clean). It can be all sorts of reasons, not just the litterbox being empty. Last week she did it (I'm assuming) because the food bowl was empty over night. Can you think of anything that might bother your cat, besides the litterbox?

Not really anything bothering her that I know of, even when she was stressed because we moved houses she didn't do it this much. I think she does it accidentally, she pees up against the wall of the box and ends up aiming outside of it instead, usually at the place where the wall is at its lowest. I guess getting a tub with consistently sized walls all around would work, as long as it's not too tall. Fingers crossed.

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Quote from: Meebo

[00:07] Liz: Jordan tell us how you feel about Edison.[00:08] Ozy: FUCK YOU LIZ[00:08] Ozy: has left the room

My guinea pig, Eddie, is bloated and has a blockage. Noticed last night that he was being very still and sluggish, when usually he's full of energy and runs around the cage if I reach inside it. This morning he was under a hidey, which is weird for him. He usually likes being out in the open right beside the hay rack. I tried giving him some fresh veggies but he wasn't interested. I booked an appointment for the vet but then he was straining to breathe so I brought him in right away.

He got four shots. Two painkillers, one antibiotics and one fluid, since he hasn't been eating or drinking since at least last night. The vet says his pain doesn't seem too bad since it seems to be caught early but there's still a high chance he might not get better or treatment would be too stressful on him.

I have to give him two more doses of antibiotics and contact the vet tomorrow. He's also separated from Richie so I can make sure if he's pooping or not. If it's short term I think more shots would be okay, but the idea of surgery on him really scares me. Hopefully he'll be showing improvement and it won't come to that choice.

Update: Failed to get in most of Eddie's dose in this morning. He was very big and round and bloated looking but it went down a lot in a few hours. Part of it was probably just him being all hunched from being uncomfortable at the time.

Eddie got three more shots today and was well enough to get his nails trimmed while he was in the vet. Yesterday he was already so stressed and miserable that the vet decided to not cut them then. He's a lot more energetic and was being very awkward and more like himself when getting the shots and nails done. He even was scrambling a little at the sides of the box I put him in to bring him to the vet. Yesterday he was so motionless and easy to handle, which isn't like him at all. So it was actually a relief to have to fight with him a bit today because it shows he's not in as much pain or as lethargic. The vet said his breathing seems to be better and he's less gassy. He's got one more dose to get and then the pigs can be brought together again, which will help because they both have been a bit miserable being separated.

Hedgehogs! They're not pets of course, but they live in our garden! There's at least one more as well, they're adorable and they make the cutest sniffing noises when searching for food.

They are absolute sweeties. It is alays makes me so sad when my neighbour has a bonfire as i know so many of the snufflling little things have it made it the pile of woods and branch their home, unaware of what it is intended for.

Kisa has developed a habit of peeing under the dining room table*. So we bought her a hat, which of course she hates. She deserves it.

*We are trying a few things because it's a behavioral thing. Right now we're trying an anti-spraying...spray...and a pheromone plug in that's supposed to help her out with stress. But saying her shark hat is her punishment is just so much more fun...

Kisa has developed a habit of peeing under the dining room table*. So we bought her a hat, which of course she hates. She deserves it.

Some cats piss all over things because something disrupts their life. My ex's cat started pissing all over her belongings because the lovely young lady started spending all her time with me and not the little furball. Funny thing is that the cat loved me, she was just jealous.

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"A person who may charitably described as 'not entirely a waste of resources, but mostly so.'" -- Momo

"Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space, 'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth!" -- The Pythons

I did something I've talked about doing loads of times and never did for some reason. I gave my guinea pig food while trimming his nails and it was SO EASY. Little chunks of red bell pepper, which seems to be his favourite thing at the moment and he was so busy eating that it took five minutes. Got them way shorter than I usually can because I give up so I can even wait a little longer till doing it next time.

"Freedom is always the freedom of the dissenter" - Rosa Luxemburg"The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you're a member of the Dunning-Kruger club. People miss that." - David Dunning

Was clipping guinea pig's nails and hit the quick on one of his back legs and he was bleeding a lot. Had to ring Da to bring me to the vet because Partner is at work. Remembered that ages ago I kept a tiny tub of cornflour for this situation under the guinea pig cage and the drawer wouldn't open so I was panicking. Eventually got it and put some on the nail and the bleeding had stopped by the time we got to the vet. Vet said he's grand and even trimmed one of the nails I missed. So yay. Piggie is fine and having plenty of veggies in his cage now.

I often remind people that cats are different than humans, and we should not impute our own desires and sensibilities on the fuzzy little beasts, nor make them proxies for fulfilling wishes we wish for ourselves.

And yet this morning, I realize that I have done exactly that. I woke, with the usual crick in my lower back, the usual cramped knees that had been bent for too long, and the usual wish that with all the different standard widths, someone ought to make mattresses in a different length as well.

And I beheld my cat, peacefully snoozing in the electrically-warmed nest I got him, which is of course long enough for him to stretch out if he wishes.

Curled contentedly into a furry little ball.

My beloved fuzzy little lap warmer, sometimes I am a fool. But, all things considered, I am glad to be foolish in a way that lets you be happy rather than miserable.

"Being human, having your health; that's what's important."(from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )"As long as we're all living, and as long as we're all having fun, that should do it, right?"(from: The Eccentric Family )